FG Rates Doctors’ Residency Training Programme Unsatisfactory

The federal government has declared the residency training programme unsatisfactory, saying indiscipline and other problems in the health sector are traceable to the programme.

Recall that the federal government had about a fortnight ago suspended the residency training programme in all federal hospitals pending ongoing appraisal of the challenges in the health sector. However, it reintroduced the programme last week.

Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu declared this in Abuja yesterday at a one-day intensive appraisal of the residency training programme in federal government-owned hospitals.

According to the minister, the programme had failed to meet its target of being the pillar of the sector, therefore, the entire system needs to be overhauled for the sector to be meaningfully improved.

He said events of the past few months had brought the residency training into sharper focus for Nigerians for a variety of reasons.

He said, “All the problems inherent in the current programmes over the years crystallized in the last few weeks into what is tantamount to a complete loss of empathy and concern for humanity and human life respectively by the professional group, which by both training and calling, sits atop the healthcare industry”.

Speaking earlier, the Minister of State for Health, Khaliru Alhassan, had called on all the technocrats to look at the issue dispassionately.

Also, a working document prepared by the director of Hospital Services, Ministry of Health, Patience Osinubi, said the residency programme was marred by poor performance and unsatisfactory conduct of the resident doctors.